Biodiversity and Conservation — Part 3: Conservation: visual lesson, CBSE Class 12 Biology

Lesson

Biodiversity conservation

Part 3 — why we should conserve biodiversity, and how.

In this lesson you will

Give the narrowly utilitarian, broadly utilitarian and ethical reasons for conservation
Compare in situ and ex situ conservation with examples
Explain hotspots, protected areas, sacred groves, Ramsar sites and the Red Data Book

Concept

Three kinds of argument.

Table of three arguments for conserving biodiversity
Argument	Examples
Narrowly utilitarian	Food, firewood, fibre, construction material, tannins, lubricants, dyes, resins, perfumes; more than 25 percent of drugs sold today come from plants; 25,000 plant species are used in traditional medicine; bioprospecting for useful products
Broadly utilitarian	Ecosystem services: the Amazon forest produces about 20 percent of the oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere through photosynthesis; pollination by bees, bumblebees, birds and bats; aesthetic pleasure
Ethical	Every species has an intrinsic value, even if not of economic value; we have a moral duty to pass our biological legacy to future generations

Check your understanding

Pollination of crops by bees is an example of which argument for conservation?

Multiple choice1 mark

Pollination of crops by bees, bumblebees, birds and bats is an example of which argument for conserving biodiversity?